The Marriott Rewards Credit Card Review
It's not surprising the Marriott Rewards Credit Card is popular with business travelers. With hotels, motels and residence inns across the country, Marriott is a recognized name in the hotel industry.
For years, the Marriott chain has focused on attracting business travelers. Their locations are carefully chosen to be close to business centers of major cities, near airports and along major highway routes.
While some hotels focus on providing for family vacations or resort travel, the Marriott focus is on making life easier for business travelers.
The Marriott Rewards credit card offers provide extra perks for business travelers who can earn points and free rooms to use for family travel later.
The credit cards also have great appeal to self-employed business travelers who are paying for their own travel rather than working on expense accounts.
Advantages
The Marriott Rewards Credit Card is the flagship card for the hotel chain. New account holders receive 22,500 bonus points when they use their new card for the first time. They also receive a free night's stay when their account is approved.
The Marriott Rewards credit card has three types of accounts. When you are approved for the standard credit card you receive the benefits listed above as well as 10 nights credit toward Elite status.
Each $1 spent at Marriott venues earns 3 points and 1 point is awarded for each $1 spent elsewhere. The Visa logo on the Marriott Reward credit card ensures the credit card can be used almost anywhere in the world.
More rewards have recently been added to this credit account. One Elite Night is now provided for each $3000 charged to the account.
The Marriott Reward Premier credit card is the status card for the hotel chain. Offering bonuses and points that are almost double those offered for the standard credit card, the Premier card is available to applicants with excellent credit only.
Small business owners will choose the Marriott Rewards Business card with the consolidated monthly billing statements and quarterly management reports.
They also appreciate the ability to obtain additional cards at no extra cost for use by their employees. The management tools combined with a credit card in the name of their business offers real value to small business owners.
Interest Rates and Fees
The standard Marriott Rewards credit card carries a variable rate APR of 14.24% which is quite reasonable in today's marketplace. Cash advances are available at 19.24% APR while the penalty rate applied if payment is late is 29.99%.
There is no annual fee for the first year an account is open but a $30 annual fee is added to the account balance for successive years.
For the Premium credit card, the APR and fees are the same. However, the annual membership fee is $65 and applies from the first year onward. The higher fee is meant to counter balance the higher rewards and perks offered by the Premium account.
The Marriott Rewards credit card for business owners has the same APR as other Marriott credit accounts. There is a $30 annual fee that is waived for the first year.
Disadvantages
The credit cards offered by Marriott are provided through Chase Bank at interest rates that are reasonable in the current economic market. There are no hidden fees or charges.
The only limitations to watch for are the award levels provided for various free rooms and locations. Hotels in the chain are assigned numbers to indicate the level of free use available. Some require more bonus points than others while some hotels in the chain limit the nights or seasons that free rooms are available.
Summary
If you travel frequently for personal or business reasons, there's a good chance there are Marriott hotels and motels available in the areas you visit.
The reputation for service, cleanliness and quality of the hotel chain is widely recognized which makes it a good option for business meetings, seminars and other work related travel.
The Marriott hotels are also family friendly and use of a Marriott Rewards credit card for business travel can help provide inexpensive hotel stays for your family vacations as a side benefit.